


A Better Life

by Khaleesi_0f_Trolls



Series: The Dragon Prince Drabbles (or random story ideas inspired from TDP discord server) [2]
Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: AU where Amaya and Gren adopt Soren and Claudia, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - The Dragon Prince, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Thanks for encouraging me everyone on the TDP Discord
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2019-11-13 14:11:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18033221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khaleesi_0f_Trolls/pseuds/Khaleesi_0f_Trolls
Summary: Soren and Claudia return to the kingdom of Katolis after failing to capture the princes and retrieve the egg of the Dragon Prince, only to find out that their father was arrested and imprisoned. Much to their dismay general Amaya and commander Gren will be supervising them to make sure they don't attempt to free their father





	1. Coming Home

"What's with all these soldiers?" Soren asked his sister as they were approaching the castle to see numerous armored men and women standing outside of gate.

"You think something bad happened?" Claudia asked as they walked past the soldiers. "They look like they're from general Amaya's army."

"Well let's not worry about it, I really want to get back to my bed because I'm tired." Soren said glancing at the guards who were watching them warily.

Claudia nodded, knowing her brother needed rest since he was still healing. She didn't want to admit it, but she was feeling tired too. Ever since she performed that healing spell to save her brother, she'd been feeling a lot more exhausted even after sleeping as long as her brother.

 _'Maybe dad can help me figure out why I'm so tired from doing that spell.'_ The young mage thought to herself as she pushed back that strand of white hair to tuck behind her ear. _'I probably strained myself, but at least it was worth it for Soren.'_

"Uh Clauds...I think we have a problem." Claudia broke away from her thoughts to see her brother pointing at a group of soldiers, both from Amaya's army and from the crown guard walking towards them with Opeli and the general herself leading them. And was that...Gren next to the general? What was he doing out of the dungeon?

"What do we do?" She whispered frantically. Without answering, Soren immediately began to dismount his horse. "Soren! Be careful! You're still healing!"

"I'm fine!" Soren responded as he managed to get off his horse, bracing himself against it to grab his crutch and tuck it under his armpit to lean against it. "Opeli, what's going on? Why are there so many guards?"

"King Ezran has returned, general Amaya is here to make sure her nephew is alright." Opeli responded curtly before taking in the siblings disheveled appearances. "What happened to you two?"

"Uh..." Soren looked to his sister for help." We...we were sent by our father to retrieve the princes. Unfortunately we had some problems...a few accidents along the way...I nearly died but my sister saved me. Where's our dad?" 

"Your father has done some unspeakable things while you two were away, we had to arrest him for what he has done.” Opeli replied. “I'm sorry, but it had to be done.”

“But what has he done? I'm sure it can't be that bad!” Claudia protested as she dismounted her horse and looked at her brother in worry. “Are we going to get arrested too?”

“King Ezran has requested that we do not arrest you two, but you will have to be watched to make sure neither of you do anything to free your father.” Gren stated as he translated what Amaya had signed. “I was asked by him to be the one to watch you two.”

“You two need rest, go to your rooms.” Opeli ordered. “The general and the commander will escort you.”

“We don't need a bunch of babysitters.” Soren protested as he started to hobble back in the direction of the castle. “It's not like either of us can do anything in this state.”

“On second thought, go to the healers.” Opeli said quickly. “Then go to your rooms. General, commander, please escort them.”

As much as they didn't want anyone to escort them, Soren and Claudia reluctantly agreed to let the general and her commander take them to the infirmary.

The healer Anya, who was quite familiar with Soren because of the multiple times in his youth he had to come get patched up by her, was not happy with the state of the young crown guard's injuries.

“Looks like you broke a rib or two, but they seem to be healing.” Anya said as she checked Soren's ribs. “How did they break again?”

“He fought a dragon.” Claudia responded quietly from the cot she was laying on. “It smacked him into a rock, he survived but got paralyzed.”

“Wait, if he got paralyzed, how is he able to walk now?” Gren asked in surprise.

“And now I'm quite curious as well.” Anya said with a small frown. “No one can be healed from being paralyzed.”

“I did, it wasn't so bad to be honest.” Soren admitted. “I figured since I was gonna be paralyzed the rest of my life, I decided to become a poet!”

“That's...nice. But how did you get healed?”

“Oh Claudia healed me. I don't know what she did exactly, but she came storming into the infirmary with lighting shooting out of her hands and her eyes were glowing too, and then she shocked me with that weird magic and boom! I could feel my toes and legs, and everything! I just really hated feeling that my ribs were crushed.”

Anya looked to Gren and Amaya with a worried look before she motioned for them to follow her out of the infirmary. Once they were gone, Soren hopped off his cot and when to sit at the foot of the one his sister was laying on.

“You okay, sis?” He asked softly and Claudia responded with a small nod.

“Just a little tired, that healing spell really wore me out.” She said with a small yawn. “Small price to pay, but it was worth it to make you walk again.”

“I think Anya is going to strap me to my bed to make sure I don't do anything to make my injuries worse.” Soren commented with a small frown. “I hate being confined in bed, remember how mom literally made me stay in bed when I was sick?”

“You were so weak from your fever but you still wanted to run outside and play with the other kids.” Claudia chuckled, recalling those times. “Dad at one point had to stay in the room with you to make sure you didn't try to get out and eat your broth.”

“Yeah and then mom bribed me with a new wooden sword she said I could have when I got better if I stayed in bed and rested.”

Claudia laughed again before looking at her brother. “What do you think dad did that was so bad he got arrested?”

Soren gave a small shrug. “Beats me, Opeli kind of disliked him ever since mom left. We could ask, if we got a chance to see him.”

“Maybe.”


	2. Concerned

“I've been treating Soren for years, but never in my life had I seen him get injuries as bad as this.” Anya said as she shut the door of the infirmary behind her. “Fighting a dragon and surviving the fight? That's much bigger than the time he tried jumping out of a tree to land on his horse and ended up breaking his leg. Claudia did try to fix it, but I had to stop her before she made it worst, and then three years later this happens.”

“I'm guessing you're concerned for them.” Gren said as Amaya signed something. “Very concerned about them.”

“Ever since they were little, I was friends with their mother Hildr and I promised her to look after them when she divorced Viren.” Anya replied with a small nod. “She was a good mother to them, always came here with Soren crying after he accidentally hurt himself with a panicked expression on her face. Viren used to come as well, but after a few years he just stopped. After that it was just Claudia who would drag her brother here to make sure he got patched up.”

'A terrible father.’ Amaya signed, which Gren translated. 'Where is their mother anyways?’

“In Del Bar, her hometown. Why do you ask?”

'Since Viren is locked up, it'd be better to put some distance between him and his children. It should prevent them from doing anything stupid to release him.’

“Is that a wise idea general? Del Bar is so far away, and who's going to take them there if you need to stay here and guard your nephew?” Anya asked. “And prince- I mean king Ezran even said himself that he wanted you to keep an eye on them.”

'She has a point.’ Gren signed to Amaya. 'We can't take them ourselves, perhaps we can send a message to Hildr?’

'Sounds like a better idea, we can still watch them here until we get a reply from her about taking them into her custody.’ Amaya signed back. 'In the meantime I now have to look over three children.’

“We'll send a message to her then to inform her of what has happened and if she wishes to take custody of her children.” Gren said to Anya. “In the meantime, could you watch them for us right now? We have to check on Corvus and Ezran.”

“Take your time, they're not going anywhere.” Anya said with a small nod.

As the three parted ways, Anya headed back into the infirmary and found Soren and Claudia passed out on the cot Claudia was laying on earlier. The healer smiled to herself as she walked over to a cabinet to pull some blankets out and unfolded them to drape them over the sleeping siblings.

“I just hope your mother comes, you two really need her if your father isn't going to change his ways. And I'm sure she needs you two as well.” Anya murmured softly.

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“Excuse me, is the Crow Master here?” Gren asked as he entered the tower where messages were normally sent. A young man around Corvus’ age was standing near some cages softly talking to the crows, and it seemed that he didn't hear Gren. The commander cleared his throat a bit loudly, getting the younger man's attention. “Sorry, is the Crow Master here?”

“Oh no, he's still not back yet.” The younger man said as he stepped away from the crows and made his way back to a large table that sat near the back of the wall. “I'm in charge at the moment, I got promoted a few days ago.”

“By Viren, I'm guessing if the Crow Lord isn't in here?” Gren asked and the Crow Master shook his head.

“No I was promoted a few days before Viren came in here wanting to send letters to the other kings and queens. Anyways, what can I do your you mister…”

“Commander, I am commander Gren.” Gren said with a small bow and held out a scroll to the Crow Master. “I need this message sent to Del Bar, it's important.”

“Seeing that there's not a royal seal, I'm guessing it's not for king Florian.” Crow Master said examining the scroll before getting out of his seat. “Letter to a friend?”

“A friend of general Amaya, Hildr.”

“Oh I think I remember her! Tall blonde woman always wearing fur and armor, looked a bit scary with that permanent frown on her face.”

“Yeah that's her, I met her once and she nearly broke my hand with a handshake by accident. I need this letter to be sent to her.”

“She’s actually really nice, sometimes came in here to give the crows some corn to the crows that sent and delivered her letters. Anyways, I'll send it out right now. Should reach her in a few days and you might get a reply back by the end of the week.”

Gren nodded and thanked the Crow Master before he headed out. Amaya was waiting outside the tower, quietly peeling and cutting an apple with a small knife. She stopped what she was doing when Gren approached and offered him a part of the peeled fruit.

“The Crow Lord wasn't here, but his assistant was and said we'll be lucky to possibly get a reply back by the end of the week.” Gren reported as he accepted the fruit from her.

'Good, the sooner she gets the letter and sends a reply, the sooner Hildr's children can leave so the risk of freeing Viren isn't happening.’ Amaya signed. 'But while we wait, I'd like to see if we can help them.’

'How so?’ Green signed back.

'Viren claimed during an interrogation by Opeli that he told his son to kill Callum and Ezran and return with the news that the boys were killed. What sort of father would tell his own son to kill two young children he knew since childhood?’

'A bad one.’

'Opeli did say that both Claudia and Soren were loyal to their father, and anything he tell them to do, they'll do it without hardly any hesitation and believe everything he says is right. They might think their father was wrongly convicted and attempt to free them before their mother gets our letter. I was thinking we could try and get them to see what their father wanted them to do was wrong.’

Gren nodded thoughtfully. 'So basically we attempt to be better parental figures until Hildr returns?’ He signed and Amaya nodded. 'Where do we start?’


	3. Morning Routine

“Rise and shine! It's such a lovely morning!”

Soren squeezed his eyes shut when a bright light hit his face and quickly flipped over to block it. Of all the things he expected commander Gren to do, coming into his room to throw open the curtains was not one of them. He could hear a loud banging noise from Claudia's room, meaning she was getting a very loud awakening from general Amaya.

“Can't I sleep in?” He asked with a small groan. “Anya said I needed rest, and I am not disobeying her orders.”

“Anya also said you needed to strengthen yourself so you can be back to your normal self, so sleeping in is not what she had in mind.” Gren said as he threw open another window to let more air and light in. “If you were in the army, you would have been up at the crack of dawn, taking a freezing shower to wake yourself up and eating a very healthy set of rations. If you want to be back to your regular self, you have to strengthen up, and Amaya will be helping you with that.”

“How exactly?”

“By getting out of bed.”

Soren heard footsteps and sat up to find general Amaya entering the room with her shield strapped to one arm, what looked like a loaf of bread in the other with a very annoyed looking Claudia behind her.

“How come you didn't get a rude awakening?” She grumbled as she tried to push her very messy bed hair out of her face.

“Ah...did she wake you up that way?” Gren asked and Claudia nodded. “Oh...I thought you had already awaken when I went in to wake you up.”

“I'm a heavy sleeper.” Claudia responded and gave a yawn. “I need my hot brown morning potion if I'm going to be awake the rest of the day.”

“Hot brown what?” Gren muttered as she left the room.

“Eh something she created. It's actually pretty good, especially if you're tired and want to stay awake at night or trying to shake the sleepy feeling off in the morning.” Soren explained as he stretched. “She tried drinking it several times when we were coming back here but it didn't really seem to work as well as it used to.”

“We'll get dressed and meet us in the courtyard for your training.” Gren said, translating what Amaya had signed. “You'll get your breakfast after a good workout.”

“It's guard training with mom all over again.” Soren mumbled to himself as he pushed his sheets away and got out of bed. His whole body still felt sore despite not having to sleep on the ground anymore, but he was pretty sure it was because his body was still getting used to not being numb for a few hours.

“Can I stay to help him get dressed?” Claudia asked. “He still has a hard time getting dressed and undressed.

“No no, I think I can do it myself today.” Soren assured her. “I'll just call you over to help if I need it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive Claudes, I've got to get used to doing it by myself.”

Claudia looked over to the general and back to her brother before nodding. “Okay, just tell me if you need help. And I mean it.”

Once his sister left the room, Soren proceed to grab a clean tunic and a pair of pants from his closet. He then remembered the general and the commander were still in the same room as him.

“Uh...can I have some privacy, please?” He asked, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Gren looked over to Amaya and she signed something before he nodded and turned to Soren. “The general said she'll go check on your sister, I'll stay here in case you start having trouble. I'll just be outside the door if that makes you feel more comfortable.”

“Uh...I guess that could work.” Soren agreed. Gren signed a reply to Amaya, who nodded before walking out of the room with him and shut the door to give Soren privacy.

Soren took his time carefully getting out of his sleeping clothes, trying to ignore the small pain in his arms that started to flare up when he raised them but in the end managed to dress himself without having to call over his sister or the commander. Once dressed, he slipped on a clean pair of socks and his boots on before heading to the door and opened it to stick his head out. As he promised, Gren stood outside the door waiting patiently and gave him a warm smile.

“Good to see you managed to dress yourself, Anya did mention that you said you had trouble moving too much. Amaya promised not to push you too hard today.” The commander stated as he motioned for Soren to follow him. “You'll get to eat after a good work out, should motivate you.”

“She's not going to make me do too many push-ups is she?” Soren asked as he followed the commander down the steps. “As much as I like doing them, I don't think I can handle doing too much with my body sore like this.”

“I promise you general Amaya will let you take breaks in between your exercising, she just wants to make sure you'll be making progress in returning you to your regular self by the time we get a response from your mother.”

Soren's eyes widened in surprise. “Wait you contacted our mom? When?”

“Yesterday, we're hoping to get word back from her sometime by the end of the week. She has been informed of what your father has done and you and your sister's current conditions, so we're hoping she'll be willing to take you two in.” Gren replied as they reached the foot of the stairs.

“Well why wouldn't she want to take us in?”

“She might be too busy to look after the two of you, might not have room in her home to house the both of you, it's kind of common for some kingdom guards if their family lived far from them. Once we had a soldier whose wife had died and was left with three children, so we had to take them in until we could find relatives to help look after them.”

Soren knew Gren had a point, his and Claudia's mother was a part of the crown guard of Del Bar, so she might not have enough room in her home or in the barracks to house him and Claudia. And on top of that, if he and his sister weren't recovered by the time she responded and came to get them, she would be too busy to care for them. But knowing his mother, she would drop everything to care for them, just the way she did when they were little.

The two exited the castle and walked towards the courtyard where Amaya was waiting patiently under the shade of a large tree. The armor she had been wearing earlier had been replaced by a simple short sleeved tunic and a pair of pants, but she wore no shoes on her feet. She greeted them with a few hand signals Soren didn't understand, to which Gren signed back.

“The general says she hopes you're ready to get started.” Gren announced as Amaya made stretching motions. “We shall begin with doing simple stretches to strengthen your muscles.”

🌫️🌫️🌫️🌫️🌫️

“My arms are killing me…” Soren muttered as he nearly collapsed on the cot of the infirmary. “And my legs, and the rest of my body…”

“And what did you do this time?” Anya asked as Soren tried adjusting himself to be laying facedown on the cot. “Nothing stupid I hope.”

“Nope... exercise.” Soren replied, his voice muffled by the cot's small pillow. “I just wanted to sleep in but the general wanted me to try and get back into shape…”

“Well that's part of the process of getting back into shape.” Anya said as she walked to the counter to grab a jug of water and a small cup. “Plenty of exercise and rest to get those muscles you're often boasting about back into shape.”

“I don't boast about my muscles.” Soren replied sourly as he lifted his head and reached forward to accept the cup of water.

“And I'm not a physician who practically patches you up.” Anya said with a small chuckle as she handed him the water. “Drink up, and then you can go back to eat breakfast.”

“Water first, then sleep, and then breakfast.”

“You can sleep later, you're going to throw your whole sleep schedule off Soren.” 

“It's all messed up anyways so…”

Anya muttered under her breath as she took the empty cup back from him and refilled it before placing it near him within arm's reach.

“So how's your body feeling at the moment?” She asked as she grabbed a blanket from the cabinet to hand to Soren.

“This morning it still hurt to raise my arms to take off a shirt and put one on.” He admitted, rolling over onto his side so his voice wouldn't be muffled. “But I was able to dress myself without anyone's help.”

“Well that's a start at least. As good it would be for you to speed up the recovery, it'd be best to take it slow. I hope general Amaya didn't push you too hard.” Anya said as she carefully draped the blanket over him and knelt down to examine his face. “The bruise on your eye seems to be healing well, and the scrapes on your face too. Though you're lucky not to have gotten a scar.”

“That would have been cool…” Soren chuckled wearily. “Something to show off in the future. How many people can say they went toe-to-toe with a dragon and lived?”

Anya winced before shaking her head. “Not many Soren, count yourself lucky.”

  
  



	4. A Mother's Concern

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant to be posted on Mother's day but I was a bit busy that day watching Detective Pikachu with my family and enjoying time with my mom and sisters so I never got around to finish it. Sorry if it feels too short

**Del Bar**

 

All was quiet in the kingdom of Del Bar, people were going about their morning and getting ready for a new day of selling, training or working and hoping for some good news from their king, who was to be coming home later that day. However, despite the cherry mood everyone was in, one woman was not in a happy mood.

“Of all the stupid things he's done involving magic, this was the most stupid of them all!” The woman screamed angrily as she crumpled the letter in her fist tightly. “Father was right, marrying him was a mistake!”

In her frustration the woman angrily kicked a small table, causing a small picture frame that sat on it to fall over. Seeing what she had done, she quickly picked it up before examining it. Two small children, a dark haired little girl was hugging an older blonde boy in the small painting and both were smiling and laughing. The woman smiled softly to herself as she gazed at the painting.

“Then again...if I didn't marry him we wouldn't have had you two.” She murmured to herself and looked at the crumpled piece of paper. “Oh I do hope your aunt has tried to keep you two out of trouble while I was gone.”

“Commander, is everything alright?” The woman turned to see a young red haired man poking his head into the doorway of her home. “Uh...was this a bad time?”

“No no, it's fine. What's the matter Baldr?”

“Have you heard the news? The young king has returned to Katolis and will be crowned soon.” The man, Baldr, said as he stepped into the room. “Isn't that where you lived for a few years, the kingdom of Katolis?”

“Yes, for about...eleven years, but ever since I left my husband I haven't gone back.” The woman replied and looked down at the small painting she held in her hands. “I suppose the king wishes for me to come along and keep you safe during the festivities?”

“Y-yes, he sent work telling me to tell you this.”

“Then I suppose it won't be such a bad idea to go, especially now with the dark mage the previous king had was imprisoned for pretending he was the regent of Katolis. I just hope…”

“Hope what commander?”

The woman sighed and placed the fallen table back on its feet before placing the painting down on it. “I just hope they're well. My eldest child, my little boy, he should be your age at this point. And my little girl, oh how I miss them both. I regret not bringing them to Del Bar with me after I left my husband, you could have had someone to play with.”

Balor gave a small laugh. “I suppose, though the person who always wrote to you wouldn't have written to you about them so much. Who are they anyways?”

“My half sister Anya, she's a doctor. I didn't even know I had a half sister- actually make that  _ two _ half sisters until a year or two after I left Katolis.” The woman explained. “Anya's older sister also works in the palace but I don't know who it was. I suppose I could ask when I go over there.”

Balor gave another small laugh. “Well then commander, or should I say, Hildr the Strong-willed, prepare our things to ride to Katolis before my father arrives?”

Hildr smiled and nodded. “Of course your majesty, the sooner we are ready, the sooner you will get to meet my children. And the sooner I can get to see them as well.”


	5. Poetry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not updating this since... May. Been busy during the summer, at the moment I'm working on a short story of The Dragon Prince for an event I'm taking part of on Tumblr. If the mods of the event allow it, I'll post it on here
> 
> Also sorry for this being so short

“How did you learn that?” Gren looked up from his breakfast to look at Claudia with a confused expression.

“Do what?” He asked, setting down the bread roll he was going to eat back onto his plate.

“The thing with the hands, what you do to talk to Amaya.” Claudia replied, holding up her hands and waving them. “I've seen Callum and Ezran doing it to speak with her whenever she visited.”

“It's called sign language, it's what we use to communicate with Amaya.” Gren explained, hoping he could explain this to her properly. “You see, general Amaya wasn't able to hear like us, and because of this she never learned to talk. Therefore she uses her hands to talk, different gestures mean different things. Like...this.” Gren made a circling motion over his heart. “This means please. And I learned this when I enlisted in the army, because if anyone was going to serve under general Amaya they had to know simple sign language to be able to communicate with her.”

“And...it could also be used to send messages to your fellow soldiers if you're being held hostage by someone?”

“Something like that. Queen Sarai used to be a translator for her sister, for the past five years she went through translator after translator until I came into position when I joined the army.”

“Can you teach me?” Claudia asked excitedly. “This sounds so fun!”

“Ah...you sure? It's not an easy language to learn, there are a lot of signals and motions to memorize.”

“Well I have plenty of time on my hands since Opeli and the council have forbidden me from using dark magic inside the palace.”

Huh, well that made sense. Gren agreed to give her lessons after breakfast, to which Claudia grinned and continued to eat her food. While they were eating, Amaya walked in with a tired looking Soren hobbling in after her. Both took a seat at the table between Gren and Claudia, Soren grabbing a bowl of warm oatmeal as he sat down next to his sister and Amaya seating herself next to Gren.

“Soren, guess what?” Claudia said to her brother excitedly as he was spooning some warm oatmeal into his mouth.

“Mm?” He replied and gestured to the spoon sticking out of his mouth.

“I'm gonna learn sign language from the commander!”

Soren pulled the spoon out of his mouth. “Wait what's that supposed to be?”

“It's that thing the commander does to communicate with the general, you know, because she can't talk.” Claudia explained and gestured to the commander and general, who were having a small conversation with each other.

“Oh that. Sounds fun.”

“You don't want to learn?” Gren asked and Soren shook his head.

“Probably not gonna be able to remember any of it, but I'll just watch if I feel like it.” The young guard replied with a small shrug. "You know, since I can't really do any training until I get better. Also I've got a book to fill.”

“Book?” Gren asked and Claudia gave a small groan.

“I thought that you were joking about filling that empty book you bought!”

“But I wasn't Claudes, I never joke about poetry. I think if I don't feel like being a part of the crown guard is for me by the time I fully recover, perhaps I'll become a bard.”

[What are they every talking about?] Amaya signed to Gren. [Can't read their lips properly.]

[Poetry.] Gren signed back. [Soren said he'll be a bard if he doesn't feel like being a guard anymore.]

“Well I can't stop you, but no more haikus please, your last one on the way home was terrible.” Claudia sighed before spooning some oatmeal into her mouth. “You know, I think mom once said she wanted to marry a bard when she was little.”

“Yeah but she got dad instead.” Soren laughed. “Man imagine if dad was a bard instead of a dark mage, the both of us would have been writing poems and songs to entertain the kingdom for years!”

“No no no I cannot write poetry to save my life, and neither can you."

"Hey I'm getting better at it! I'll prove it!"

"No!" Claudia quickly grabbed her brother's arm to pull him down when he attempted to climb on top of his chair.

"I'm...I'm sure his poetry can't be _that_ bad." Gren said helpfully. "Amaya said she'd like to hear at least one of your good ones."

"Ooh I actually did a good one by accident when I was released from the hospital!" Soren said excitedly with a big grin on his face. "Of course Claudia dropped me afterwards out of excitement when she realized I got the right amount of syllables."

[May we hear it?] Amaya signed. [And no climbing on the chairs during breakfast, it's rude.]

"Ha you got scolded by the general!" Claudia giggled.

"Shut up and let me say my poem." Soren muttered as he got off his chair and cleared his throat before reciting his haiku. "Dragon smash boy, say the good words now-"

"That's your bad one!" Claudia interrupted. "Like the really bad one that's cringy!"

"Oh, I'd like to see you spend twenty minutes on a poem of your own!" Soren shot back. "Like right now!"

"This...this isn't what I was expecting." Gren mumbled as the two siblings continued to argue back and forth and looked to the general. "Should we...stop this?"

[Let them blow off some steam.] Amaya signed back to him. [At least until they start getting physical, then we'll interfere.]


	6. Old Rivals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt motivated to finish this chapter after the news we received earlier today on season 3. We finally have a release date! Be prepared for a new season November 22!

"Ah this hurts!" Soren cried out. "Anya stop!"

"Okay I think that's enough bending for now." The doctor said as she carefully lowered Soren's leg back down. "This physical therapy is supposed to help you know, you have to do some exercises to get your muscles to work again."

"But it hurts so much!" Soren complained and winced as he tried to massage his aching leg. "Can we stop for today, please?"

Anya looked to the general, who had been helping with the therapy, and received a small shrug.

"I suppose we can stop for today, we'll try again later before you go to bed."

Soren nodded in relief before he swung his legs onto the cot to lay down. As Anya was getting him some water, she heard the door of the infirmary open.

"Can I get some ice, please?" Anya turned to see a man around Soren's age enter covering his left eye and looking very embarrassed.

"I keep forgetting Corvus was still in the castle." She heard Soren mutter as the man approached her. Amaya's face lit up a bit before a small frown came to her lips and signed something. The man signed something back before the general pointed to another cot across from Soren.

"And may I ask what happened to you?" Anya asked as the man walked to his assigned cot.

The man, Corvus, looked up at her sheepishly before removing his hand from his face to reveal his injury- an irritated eye that was already looking pink. "A small fly landed on my face and the king's glow toad tried to get it, but he accidentally hit me in the eye...with his tongue."

Soren burst out laughing, nearly falling off his cot. "That's almost as bad as when you broke your wrist because you slipped on butter!" He cackled as Corvus glared at him.

"Slipped on butter?" Anya asked, glancing at Amaya, who looked like she was trying to (and doing a poor job of it) keep a straight face.

"Immature even after all these years." Corvus mutters as Anya handed him the glass of water she had been planning on giving Soren. "I still can't believe you got into the Crownguard, and that you're leading it."

"Shut up, at least I'm not just an army cook." Soren shoots back before Anya clears her throat loudly.

"No fighting you two, and I mean it." She scolded as she walks to Corvus to examine his eye. "Behave yourselves, or I'll have to kick you out."

Soren muttered something unintelligible before flopping over on his cot so his back was to them.

"This is certainly the first time anyone came to me with a glow toad related emergency like this, the last time was when prince Callum was little and came running in here crying his eyes out because his brother's pet bit his hand."

"Because he grabbed a jelly tart Bait wanted." Soren responded. "It was kind of funny really, until Bait did it again with me. I nearly hit him for that."

"You were twelve." Anya said with a frown. "And if I remember right, you also came running in here crying like the young prince."

"Why are you telling my rival this?"

"I'm not your rival." Corvus mutters as Anya stands up to go grab something. "Never was, and never will be."

[Camp rivals?] Amaya signed to Corvus as Anya came back with some cloth and a large cotton ball. [Oh you're getting an eye patch.]

"Is this necessary?" Corvus asks as Anya placed the cotton ball on the injured eye and placed some cloth on it before carefully wrapping it around his head to secure it.

"Believe me, it is if you want that eye to get better. Plus it'll be easier to heal because you're not running or touching it."

"You look like a pirate." Soren comments. "You even dress like one too."

"Tell me again why he's in here?" Corvus asks with a frown.

"Therapy, and it's so my body can function again after I fought a dragon."

"That's what happens when you pick a fight with a dragon that's not even hurting anyone, I warned you, but you never listened!"

"Oh geez, thanks for reminding me!"

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you."

"It doesn't suit you either!"

"Goodness, and I thought Opeli and I had bad spats." Anya murmured as she finished tying the cloth around Corvus' head and stepped back to Amaya. "I think I need a little break, accompany me, general?"

Amaya smiled and held her arm out to the doctor, who happily accepted it. [With pleasure, doctor.]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At a different convention (last month I believe?) it was revealed that Soren and Corvus went to camp together (I'm guessing a training camp to be in the kingdom's military) and I thought it'd be funny if Soren claimed to have a rivalry with Corvus, who denies that there ever was one


End file.
